KBC Group NV Makes New Investment in Precigen, Inc. $PGEN

Key Points

• KBC Group NV opened a new position in Precigen during the first quarter, buying 345,805 shares worth about $1.34 million.
• Precigen recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with a smaller-than-expected loss of $0.02 per share and revenue of $23.25 million versus the $20.81 million estimate.
• There has been notable insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment: executives sold shares over the past 90 days, while Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Hold with an average price target of $12.50.

KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 345,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000. KBC Group NV owned about 0.10% of Precigen as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Precigen by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,824,860 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,248,000 after buying an additional 6,335,033 shares during the period. SymBiosis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Precigen during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,540,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Precigen by 201.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,505,992 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,731 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Precigen by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,173,933 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occam Crest Management LP increased its stake in Precigen by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Occam Crest Management LP now owns 3,501,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,637,000 after acquiring an additional 799,339 shares during the last quarter. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Precigen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PGEN opened at $5.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.62, a current ratio of 4.82 and a quick ratio of 4.12. Precigen, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.54 and a 1-year high of $6.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.83 and a 200-day moving average of $4.37.

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $23.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.81 million. Precigen had a positive return on equity of 717.50% and a negative net margin of 646.99%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Precigen, Inc. will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Rutul R. Shah sold 42,924 shares of Precigen stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.85, for a total transaction of $251,105.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 497,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,911,843.35. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Donald P. Lehr sold 29,131 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.36, for a total transaction of $127,011.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 755,461 shares in the company, valued at $3,293,809.96. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 822,728 shares of company stock worth $4,422,853. Company insiders own 41.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGEN. Wall Street Zen lowered Precigen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Precigen from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Precigen in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Precigen in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Precigen from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Precigen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Precigen Company Profile

Precigen, Inc NASDAQ: PGEN is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of genetic medicines. The company leverages proprietary gene and cell therapy platforms to design targeted therapies for oncology, infectious diseases and rare conditions. Precigen's approach combines synthetic biology, immuno-oncology and microbiome engineering to create precision treatments intended to enhance efficacy while minimizing off-target effects.

The centerpiece of Precigen's technology is its OmniCAR platform, which enables the rapid generation of adaptable chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products.

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